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H. K.W. Patterson 

1303 Ling Street 

WEST SIDE 

BAY CITY, MICH. 






Uttlf its tompani^n mxh tdhx 



Jt^li.lt^'l^fW* Patterson 

^rcacliev, ^oet, lEssagist, %tduttt 
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To my beloved wife, whose sweetness and 
purity have been my inspiration and solace, 
since first we met, and loved, and mated, this 
poem is lovingly dedicated. 



2 

^C!A656308 



The most unique of God's creations^ the 
shrine of the most sacred and captivating 
emotions, and the casket concealing Love's 
rarest treasures, is the soul of a woman. 
Unfathomable, a very Pandora box of evil, 
when vitiated and debased ; pure as Heaven 
itself when innocent; the soul of a virgin is 
indeed an Eden, on which the eyes of angels 
dwell with ecstasy. Before such a shrine a 
man may w^ell ask himself a question, as to 
his fitness for the custodianship of so precious 
a gift, unless he brings a like stainless char- 
acter to the Altar of Wedlock. 

The soul of a woman just awakened to 
Love, is a spectacle calculated to inspire with 
reverence those who truly appreciate its 
innate delicacy and refinement. To the 
maiden herself the revelation is bewildering. 
She stands gazing out upon a sea of unknown 
depth, whose strange and witching beauty 
fascinates her. The surf laves her feet and 
the balmy breezes of the Orient seem v»'afted 
to her intoxicated senses. She hears the 
music of an anthem, the chords of which 
have never before vibrated in her soul, and 
she is entranced. She is held, enthralled by 
its witchery and asks herself, what does it 
all mean.^ 

Half awakened and timorous; fearing to 
trust herself to the strangely new experience, 
for the first time, in a new and intensive 
sense, she lives ! Ah, me ! The ecstasy in 
which the soul exults is exquisite. How it 
paints all Nature in radiant colors. What 
transcendent melody it lends to the carol of 
the birds, and how tunefully, harmonious "the 
music of the spheres." How sweet are the 
exhalations of the rose-twined garlands 
which broider the pathway of life. The 
spirit soars to hitherto untrodden heights, 
3 



and exults in the consciousness of twin fel- 
lowship with a kindred affinity, which needs 
no words to convey Love's messages, whose 
silence is an eloquent testimony of the bliss 
which speaks from a heart throbbing with 
joy, in the possession of Life's fairest 
heritage, the fruition of which means swing- 
ing back the gates of an earthly Paradise. 

Well has Victor Hugo said: "When two 
mouths, which have become sacred by Love, 
draw near each other to create, it is impossi- 
ble but that there is a tremor, above that 
ineffable kiss, in the immense mystery of the 
stars. These felicities are the real ones. 
There is no joy beyond these joys. Love is 
the only ecstasy. Everything else weeps. 
To love, or to have loved, that is enough. 
Search no further. There is no other pearl 
to be found in the dark folds of Life. To 
love is a consummation." 



(loli's orifokeat (iiff to ilan 



Creation's dawning glory saw the mystery 
unveiled^ 
Which gave to Earth an Eden^ and the 
firmament its stars; 
The flowers, breathing fragrance, sweetest 
messages exhaled, 
And Light, Heav'n's firstborn daughter, 
the celestial gate unbars : 
The "Music of the spheres" attests Omnipo- 
tence Divine; 
The birds, their carols chaunting, swell the 
universal praise: 
The Sun's supernal. splendor vies with moon- 
beam's softer shine. 
To crown with dazzling brilliancy the day's 
expiring rays. 

The mighty panorama at its Architect's com- 
mand. 
Unfolds its varied beauty as Aurora gilds 
the East; 
Revealing God's Omniscience in the work so 
nobly planned, 
As each new glory bursts upon the sight, 
the joy increased. 
Jehovah saw that it was good and blessed it 
with His love. 
Evinced in giving Paradise a King and 
Queen so fair ; 
The angels bent in rapture, while throughout 
the realms above. 
Reechoed hallelujahs as God crowned the 
royal pair. 

'Twas fitting that this final act should tran- 
scend all the rest. 
And that the race progenitors should find 
in those alone, 
5 



Whom God in His own image made^ and unto 
whose behest 
All Nature bowed in suppliance^, placing 
them on the throne: 
Unlimited their sovereignty^ each boasted 
rarest grace, 
An incarnated majesty sat throned upon 
their brow; 
Both dowered with nobility, which Sin could 
not efface. 
They regnant reigned, nor lacked one vir- 
tue which God could endow. 

But though Adam was gifted with a dignity 
supreme. 
To walk the Earth in majesty and beauty, 
as its King, 
'Twas lovely Eve, adorned with all the 
charms which poets dream. 
To whom our hearts are drawn, and round 
whom our affections cling; 
She is the choicest blessing Heaven e'er 
vouchsafed to man ; 
Her tenderness entreating is the lode-star 
of the race; 
She woos us from our sorrows, which her 
smiles like rainbows span. 
From the cradle to the grave, her sweet 
influence we trace. 

Like a snowdrop or a lily, sent a messenger 
Divine, 
When she opes her eyes the angels stand 
as sponsors at her birth; 
In her hands a scepter placing, at her feet 
all hearts recline. 
What are flowers, birds or music, to the 
joys she brings to Earth: 
Watch the baby, girl and maiden, as she blos- 
soms, like the rose. 
Into fuller sweetness growing as the years 
go gliding by; 
Purest innocence and virtue, like a vestal fire 
glows, 

6 



As her heart's imprisoned sunshine glances 
from her sparkling eye. 

Watch her bosom's wild emotion^ as she 
wakes to consciousness, 
'Tis a story so entrancing that the angels 
catch the strain; 
[n her soul there lurks a tempest, wakened 
by the first caress, 
When she's jjast the realm of girlhood, won 
her heritage of pain : 
Standing On tiptoe, expectant, in the dawn of 
Life and Love; 
Filled with ecstasy, yet trembling, as the 
strangely potent spell 
Woes her with its fascination, e'en the heav- 
enly courts above 
Thrill with rapture as they picture joys no 
mortal tongue can tell. 

'Tis a holy consecration which gives Earth its 
motherhood. 
And maternity ennobles, as the priestess of 
the race. 
Stands within her chosen temple, whence all 
influence for good 
Emanates, and crowns with glory ev'ry 
hope our lives embrace: 
Naught can tarnish this effulgence, e'en 
tho' libertine should blast. 
With his foul and hellish passion, woman's 
innocence and youth; 
He the culprit, she the victim, when the 
ordeal is past. 
Pays the penalty of trusting Manhood's 
Honor, Love and Truth. 

In Crime's dark and gloomy record, Judas 
stands the chief accursed. 
As the infamous betrayer of the Saviour 
of mankind ; 
But his name stands for all traitors ; in Sin's 
calendar the worst 
Of the centuries' malefactors, is he who to 
honor blind, 

7 



Violates the trust of Woman, stamps her as 
a thing impure; 
Makes of her a social leper, from whose 
presence innocence 
Flees to shun the dread contagion, thus its 
safety to insure; 
Yet the victim, damned and dreaded, should 
be deemed of least offense. 

Is their aught we know more cruel than the 
death knell of the hope 
Born of holy love and passion, in which 
self is merged and lost? 
Can we picture fiercer travail than the depths 
in which they grope. 
Who as Magdalenes wander, on Life's 
ocean tempest-tossed ? 
'Tis an easy thing to shun them ; spurn them 
as a pestilence; 
Turn away with cold disdaining; crush 
them till they droop and die; 
But remember, they were tempted, and have 
lost their innocence 
Through their love; it leaves no refuge to 
which broken hearts can fly. 

Queens who rule where fashion's mandate is 
the fiat all obey; 
Where the rich are counted worthy, and the 
lowly poor are scorned ; 
Where the tinsel and the glitter are the im- 
pulses which sway; 
And the measure of Man's merit is the rank 
by him adorned (?) 
Ye who thus to folly wedded, judge frail 
woman in her sin. 
And yet welcome him who damns her if he 
be of wealth possessed, 
Purify your social ethics. Justice be to Mercy 
kin. 
And the roue, prince or peasant, of your 
presence go unblessed. 

Thus shall Woman be exalted, and her purity 
enthroned, 

8 



Elevate our moral standards, while her 
sympathy and love^, 
In all channels where their sweetness, as a 
ruling pow'r is owned, 
Dissipate the moral darkness, as the sun- 
shine from above, 
Scatt'ring Nature's gloomy shadows, ushers 
in the new-born day; 
Fills the world with vivid splendor; floods 
the universe with Light; 
So Society's pet vices shrink from innocence 
away. 
If its sisterhood, united, boldly champion 
the right. 

Home and mother, wife and children; words 
can never tell the bliss 
Which these blest relations foster ; they are 
heav'n on earth to men; 
Truth and Honor, noblest impulse, wakened 
by a mother's kiss. 
Are the safeguards of the Nation ; mightier 
than the sword or pen: 
In the chivalry they teach us, selfishness is 
lost in love; 
We are won away from sinning by "the 
light of her sweet smile" ; 
In our hearts fond mem'ries linger, like a 
message from above 
They disjDel the shades of sorrow; keep 
our spirits free from guile. 

As our watchful guardian angel, we have 
crowned her Sovereign Queen; 
To her virtue we pay homage, in her ten- 
derness we find 
All the inspiration needed to make Life 
sweetly serene ; 
Childhood's hopes and man's ambitions are 
so closely intertwined 
With her constancy and courage, that without 
their magic art. 
Noblest monuments of valor ne'er would 
grace the storied page, 
9 



And the characters whose greatness of the 
Nation forms a part 
Fail to reach their lofty stature^ or men's 
interest to engage. 

In the onward march of progress, in the 
thought life of the world, 
Guided by a hand so gentle that its pres- 
ence seems unfelt. 
Moral forces meet in conflict; from its ped- 
estal is hurled 
Throned and sceptered usurpation, 'gainst 
which fatal blows are dealt 
By the timid maid or matron, whose sweet 
consecration wins. 
Where the sterner means and methods of 
man's dealing with the wrong. 
Fail to reach the malefactor as he prospers 
in his sins; 
Virtue triumphs in the battle of the weak 
against the strong. 

Honor to thee, sister, sweetheart, thou hast 
ruled since first to man. 
As a gracious benediction thou wast sent 
to share his lot; 
With Creation's dawn thy glory as a mis- 
tress fair began, 
Of the destinies of Nations; never can 
there be forgot 
What devotion thou hast shown when the 
souls of men were tried; 
When sweet Liberty assaulted by those 
nourished at her breast. 
Tottered in her shaken Temple; than thee 
none more brave beside 
Held aloft thy Country's banner till the 
tossing waves to rest 

At the feet of Peace, triumphant, sunk in 
sullen silence lay; 
Then the heroes of the conflict, loving, 
crowned thee once again; 
10 



Thus the HomC;, the State^ the Nation, to 
thee highest tribute pay. 
And the paeans of the ages echo back the 
same refrain; 
History thy name has blazoned in the loftiest 
niche of Fame; 
'Mid the battle's strife and tumult, gently 
hast thou won thy way; 
Soothed the anguish of the martj^red, friend 
and foe alike the same 
Succor at thy hands receiving, as in pain's 
embrace they lay. 

So we find in all relations. Woman is Man's 
polar star; 
Without her his higher nature, famished, 
yearns for peace in vain; 
With her, clouds have silver linings. Love's 
celestial gates unbar. 
And his i3athway gleams with sunshine, 
sweetening ev'ry hour of pain ; 
In prosperity her counsel guards against for- 
getfulness 
Of the pitfalls of destruction which lie 
yawning at our feet; 
In adversity she hovers, eager to relieve dis- 
tress. 
And her gentle ministrations soothe when 
tortured by defeat. 

Coronets could not ennoble those thus to the 
purple born. 
By Divine impress they're gifted with no- 
bility and grace; 
Ev'ry act attests the voucher and the jewels 
which adorn 
Character aglow with beauty, in whose 
virtues we can trace 
Lineage with clime celestial; lead the race 
to higher life; 
Broaden avenues of culture; inculcate 
sweet charity; 
Raise the ideal of manhood; exorcise all 
selfish strife; 

11 



Ush'ring in millennial dawning and the 
world's fraternity. 

Poet pen and artist pencil have in vain 
essayed the task 
Of portraying female virtue in its excel- 
lence and worth; 
Incarnation of celestial gifts and graces^ who 
could ask 
That her prototype on canvas^, or in poesy, 
give birth 
To a likeness which should measure up to 
God's ideal Art;, 
As she came forth from His fingers, angels 
envied man the bliss 
Of companionship with Woman; eye to eye 
and heart to heart; 
Waking tenderest resjDonses, consummating 
in her kiss. 

Last and best of God's creations ; Heav'n and 
Earth in unison 
Breathe a blessed benediction on thine ad- 
vent, and implore, 
Thornless roses 'neath thy footsteps, cloud- 
less skies thy horizon, 
And perennial spring and sunshine as thy 
portion evermore; 
Thus in Life a Queen unrivaled, thou shalt 
reign potentially; 
In thy death enshrined forever in the 
hearts thou lov'st so well: 
Paradise swing back its portals as thou 
ent'rest royally. 
And the angels singing welcome, thy celes- 
tial triumphs tell. 



12 






To the WoMAN^s Christian Temperance 
Union, from whose untiring effort, undaunted 
faith and consecrated zeal came the inspira- 
tion and heroic labors which finally culmi- 
nated in the victory of the prohibition forces 
and the adoption of the Eighteenth Amend- 
ment to the Constitution of the United States, 
this poem is most loyally and lovingly dedi- 
cated by the author. 



13 



The adulation of this God-given beverage, 
a marvel in its component elements, and per- 
fectly adapted to the cravings of a healthy 
and normal physical organization, co-relates 
every instrumentality which is fighting for 
its supremacy, and for the banishment of 
the vitiated and debasing, in the decoctions, 
man-made and demon-inspired, which have 
filled the world with sorrow and heartbreak. 
In conjunction with kindred spirits, the 
founders of the W. C. T. U. in Fredonia, 
New York, and afterward in formal con- 
vention in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1874, extended 
its field of operations, until it now compre- 
hends the entire world, its white-ribboned 
message encircling the globe. 

The boast of Bailey, "a saloonless nation 
and a stainless flag," has broadened in its 
significance, until, in its wondrous influence, 
the mighty moral propaganda it typifies shall 
eventually redeem a race ; effacing, in its 
power and majesty, the degeneracy and dis- 
sipation of thousands of years; enabling the 
world to rejoice in the rearing of its youth 
in an atmosphere untainted by the fumes of 
alcohol, in which the Bacchanalian revel and 
the horrors of delirium shall be unknown. 

The name of Frances E. Willard is asso- 
ciated so intimately with the history of the 
W. C. T. U. that to name one is to include 
and recall the other. The nation has hon- 
ored itself by placing her effigy, in marble, 
in Statuary Hall, Washington, D. C, so that, 
side by side with the heroes of the stern tests 
to which our form of government has been 
subjected, Illinois might proclaim to the 
world that this woman, in her life and char- 
acter, embodied the essential elements of 
nobility, virtue and consecration, to the high 
ideals, constituting the glory and sovereignty 
14 



of American womanhood. She belongs to the 
noble galaxy of those who have laid the gen- 
erations under a tribute of gratitude. 

To them we ascribe heartfelt gratitude and 
appreciation^ and, in our heart of hearts, 
enshrine their names and memories. Queens 
in the circles in which they moved, their 
regnancy was undisputed and their influence 
irresistible. God hasten the day when sane 
legislation and an awakened public conscience 
shall unite in compelling the observance of 
a universal prohibitory statute, for which 
they are fighting, thus freeing America and 
the world from the effects of this infamy. 



15 



Water^ limpid, pure and crystal, as the skies 
which gave thee birth; 

In thy depths there lurks no poison; naught 
but joy thou giv'st to earth; 

Blending in thy liquid beauty, rainbow- 
tinted loveliness, 

Those who quaff thee from the goblet, bless 
the glass whose brim they press. 

Singing in the tiny streamlet, dashing down- 
ward in the storm; 

Gleaming in the sj)arkling dewdrop ; freezing 
in fantastic form; 

Tow'ring high in mighty iceberg; falling in 
the cooling show'r; 

Ever cheering, always welcome. Earth thou 
bringest richest dow'r. 

Mountains only bar thy progress, gently as 

thou fall'st in rain; 
Puny are man's mighty efforts on the 

ocean's tossing main; 
When, in tempest, angry swelling, mountain 

high the billows run. 
Like a bubble in thy depths he sinks, un- 
known and undone. 
Fitting symbol of thy Maker, when in 

majesty sublime, 
As old ocean's mighty volume, bound by 

neither space nor time. 
On its sandy beach thou breakest, chanting 

anthems loud and long, 
Thou the Almighty's face hast mirrored since 

Creation's morning song. 

Born amid the clouds and sunbeams, piled in 

tow'ring grandeur high, 
Pregnant in the womb which bore thee, lie 

the tints which charm the eye; 
Crystal jewels thou bestowest, when the Frost 

King reigns supreme, 
16 



And when Summer rules with sunshine^ rain- 
bows glitter in thy stream: 

To the flow'rs thou givest fragrance, and as 
they their sweets exhale^, 

'Tis to thee they owe their beauty, pure and 
fair as it is frail: 

When with scorching heat the sunray parches 
Nature's verdant dress, 

'Neath thy gentle touch upspringing, it 
blooms anew at thy caress. 

Votive off'rings thus we bring thee, Goddess 
with the rainbow crowned, 

And with Fame's bright laurel-wreath en- 
twined, we'll sing thy praise profound; 

Loudest plaudets we will yield thee, and the 
pleasing charm prolong. 

For the blessings thou art giving is the bur- 
den of our song: 

Age and childhood, maid and matron; youth- 
ful son and hoary sire, 

Laving in thy crystal coolness, quench their 
thirst, cool fever's fire; 

In their healthful hours they crave thee, 
yearning for thy wholesome draught, 

And, when fell disease hath seized them, oft 
have they thy pure stream quaffed. 

Blessing always, cursing never, fitting 'tis 

thou should'st be praised; 
That for thee and thy pure nectar, shouts and 

paeans should be raised; 
Brewed by God's own hand, in regions hidden 

far from mortal sight, 
In thy purity thou bearest proofs of the celes- 
tial light. 
Which has glistened thee with rainbows, 

robed thee in the brightest hues ; 
Shimmered thee with dazzling radiance as 

thy tear the rose bedews ; 
Fleeting as the misty vapor, gentle as the 

falling dew; 
Emblem art thou of thy Maker, good and 

pure as thou art true.. 
17 



3 



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y/*/ N. MANCHESTER, 
■"^^ INDIANA 






